Figments.nrw – Workshop Highlights and Results

On May 3, 2023, the consortium consisting of RWTH Aachen University, Bergische Universität Wuppertal, Hamm-Lippstadt University of Applied Sciences and Bonn-Rhein-Sieg University of Applied Sciences was able to demonstrate how VR can be integrated into learning environments in the future in a workshop on "Open authoring tools for collaborative virtual learning environments".

Workshop Summary

With the framework Figments.nrw in its current state, OER content can now be created, shared, taught and experienced together with virtual reality (VR). In user studies realized in the project, the team created exemplary learning content for the domain of material sciences, specifically crystalline structures, but the range of possible applications if far greater. For all this, the user does not need any programming expertise or knowledge about the creation of 3d objects.

Information about the release of Figments.nrw The use of Figments.nrw will be free and open. An initial pre-release, specifically for our associated partners, is planned for july, with the broader release of version 1.0 towards the end of august. More information about the scope of version 1.0 will follow soon.

Feedback and Testimonials

"Central advantage of VR in teaching materials science: Contexts are relatively easy to make understandable in VR through 3D visualization, which is practically impossible in 2D."

"I would like to use Figments in student projects as soon as possible. This will definitely require further support and exchange in the future!"

"First, the scientific further development of figments must be ensured, second, the stabilization of the application and its integration into the structures of the HS must be realized and third, active support of the users in communities must be focused even more."

The goal of the workshop was to present the developed teaching and learning framework to interested parties from academia and industry and to discuss opportunities for further funding, cooperations and ways to broaden the reach.

The numerous guests of the hybrid workshop were able to get thematically involved in the project “ARVR.nrw – Open authoring tools for collaborative virtual learning environments” and to get to know the user-friendly operation on site by means of VR HMDs. In addition to guests from universities and colleges in North Rhine-Westphalia, Marielle Ratter, Head of Digitalization in Teaching and Learning at the Ministry of Culture and Science of the State of North Rhine-Westphalia (MKW NRW), personally took advantage of this offer in the showroom of the Institute for Visual Computing (IVC) of the H-BRS.

In the feedback round, the topic of learning with virtual reality in the context of Figments.nrw was examined from multiple angles. The participants recognized the need for the VR framework presented, especially the need of educational institutions for free and open tools for the creation of vr content, endorsed the project idea and discussed possible solutions for further funding.

AR/VR.nrw, the project in which Figments.nrw is developed, is funded by the Digital University NRW (DH.NRW) until August 2023.

Continuation and sustainability

Michelle Adolfs from the University of Cologne would also like to use the developed solution and proposes to set a strong focus for media education. The applications to date focus primarily on STEM subjects.

To ensure that free and open source VR tools can reach a broad audience in higher education and the universities get the support they need for a successful implementation, a need for a follow-up project can be identified.

Presentation Slides

In this upcoming section, we are pleased to present the workshop presentation slides. These slides offer a concise visual representation of the key ideas, concepts, and discussions that took place during the workshop. Through this, you will have the opportunity to explore the results of our project AR/VR.nrw up until now and can get additional insights into the technical functionalities of our authoring tool Figments.nrw.

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Impressions

We thank Markus Oh (www.ausbildung-mit-vr.de), guest of the workshop, for the photographic documentation.

fehling@uni-wuppertal.de
May 15, 2023
Event